State govt to export 1000 MW power to Bangladesh per day: Sobhandeb

Kolkata: The Bengal government will soon export 1000 MW power to Bangladesh per day for which the state Power department has already taken various initiatives.

State Power minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay on Saturday said his department has already written to the Centre seeking permission in this regard. He was speaking at the second edition of "Young Thinkers' Conference" at a city hotel.

The British Deputy High Commission, Kolkata, in association with The Dialogue hosted the conference in which experts from various fields discussed the potential of East and Northeast India in education, technology, trade, investment, skills and entrepreneurship.

The theme of the conference was: 'UK, West Bengal & Eastern India – Shared Prosperity for a Shared Future'. Speaking at the event, Chattopadhyay said the Bengal government had initially started exporting 500 MW power to Bangladesh and now the department is ready to increase the supply up to 1000 MW as of now. It has been waiting for the final clearance from the Centre.

Giving a detailed account of what his department has achieved so far in the state, the minister elaborated that in the past six years, the number of consumers has gone up to 1.85 crore while the figure stood at 86 lakh before the change of guard in the government.

He further laid emphasis on the development of renewable energy saying that around 78.28 MW solar power is already produced in the state and the figure would soon reach 109 MW. However, there are some land constraints which he pointed out. He said it requires around 4.5 acre land for producing 1 MW solar power.

He also welcomed other industries in the state by stating that Bengal is ready with infrastructure, power, workforce and other facilities. He once again reiterated that Bengal is a power-surplus state.

Speaking on the topic 'UK-Bengal Relations and Opportunities going Forward', Bruce Bucknell, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata, said: "Our digital world knows no borders. If our countries are to thrive in the age of instant global communications, we need to find new ways to co-operate. We need to develop the networks and contacts to share our ideas, shape the global debate and build a better world."

Bucknell also added that Britain and India have a shared history. The Indian diaspora in Britain is the most successful community and helps power 'Global Britain'.

Debasish Sen, additional Chief Secretary, department of IT in the state, said the perception about Bengal among people is changing very fast. The growth in the export of software has touched 135 percent in the past six years. The largest campus of TCS in Eastern India is coming up in Kolkata, Sen added.